


Small Sacrifices by Madison

by sgamadison



Series: The Cabin Series [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-16
Updated: 2010-05-16
Packaged: 2017-10-09 11:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/86960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgamadison/pseuds/sgamadison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The hell with appearances.  They were on their own now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Sacrifices by Madison

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bluespirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluespirit/gifts).



[Small Sacrifices](viewstory.php?sid=14304) by [Madison](viewuser.php?uid=1593) [R]

 

 

**Summary:** The hell with appearances. They were on their own now.

 

Spoilers through season 5. Snark with a side dose of snide commentary on TPTB.

 

**Categories:** [Slash Pairings](browse.php?type=categories&id=3) &gt; [McKay/Sheppard](browse.php?type=categories&id=11)

**Characters:** [Elizabeth Weir](browse.php?type=characters&charid=5), [Jennifer Keller](browse.php?type=characters&charid=19), [John Sheppard](browse.php?type=characters&charid=7), [Radek Zelenka](browse.php?type=characters&charid=11), [Rodney McKay](browse.php?type=characters&charid=12), [Ronon Dex](browse.php?type=characters&charid=13), [Teyla Emmagan](browse.php?type=characters&charid=17)

**Genres:** [Action/Adventure](browse.php?type=class&type_id=1&classid=2), [Drama](browse.php?type=class&type_id=1&classid=7), [Established Relationship](browse.php?type=class&type_id=1&classid=9), [Humour](browse.php?type=class&type_id=1&classid=12), [Series](browse.php?type=class&type_id=1&classid=19)

**Warnings:** [Adult themes](browse.php?type=class&type_id=2&classid=23)

**Chapters:** 1 [[Table of Contents](viewstory.php?sid=14304&index=1)]

**Series:** [The Cabin Series](viewseries.php?seriesid=205)

 

 

Word count: 6340; Completed: Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

> **Story Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> Written as a b-day ficlet for the incomparable bluespirit_star and beta'd by the_cephalopod. My best to both of you guys!

 

* * *

>   
> "Talk to me, McKay." John came up behind him, dressed all in black. It was just like the old days, Rodney thought, right down to the suggestion of bags under his eyes, a small cut across one cheekbone that had long since dried and the smell of smoke lingering to his hair. He looked tired.
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney's response was also standard, shot over his shoulder from where he was wedged inside a wall console, ripping out fiber optic connections and re-routing them as fast as he could. "What shall we talk about? The weather? Or how about what's for dinner tonight? Or I know, why don't we start a petition so that the SGC will stop naming their ships after classical, mythological persona of dubious intelligence and non-existent morals? I'd like to point out that bad things happen to their ships all the time. Someone might have noticed a pattern by now."
> 
>  
> 
> "McKay," John drawled, and it wasn't the pleased drawl or the sexy drawl. No, it was the 'if you don't quit screwing around, I'll kill you slowly with my bare hands' drawl.
> 
>  
> 
> It pissed Rodney off.
> 
>  
> 
> He slid down out of the wall and wheeled furiously to face John. "We're screwed, okay? Is that what you want to hear? We're totally screwed. We're losing power, there's a hull breach on deck six, we've got maybe seven hours before a complete systems failure, which, just to make sure you thoroughly grasp the significance of that fact, means no life support, no heat, and we all _die_. Navigation systems are down as well, I can't even find a decent planet for us to escape to, nor do we have the hyperdrive to make the jump to another sector." Rodney paused for a breath and momentarily pictured the frozen bodies of his team lying in a hold on the other _Daedalus_, the one with the alternate reality drive. That would be them in this reality too, all of them, if they didn't come up with something. His mind seized up on a mental image of Teyla clutching little Torren in her arms as they slowly got colder and something in him snapped. "They sent us out here on the fucking _Iphigenia_, for god's sake."
> 
>  
> 
> Inexplicably, the corner of John's mouth quirked upwards, as though he were repressing a grin. In that instant, Rodney realized with the illuminating flash of an unexpected nuclear detonation that he loved John; really _loved_ him and that possibly frightened him even more than anything else he'd experienced so far this day.
> 
>  
> 
> "Do we still have weapons and shields?" John's sense of humor retreated as though it had never existed and he was all business again.
> 
>  
> 
> "Weapons, yes, for all the good they'll do us now. Shields are down to 20% but I'm going to have to divert or steal power from any place I can get it. We'll just have to hope that the bad-ass Asgard don't show up again while we're sitting on the crapper with our pants down."
> 
>  
> 
> John briefly bit his lip and then nodded as though he expected this answer. "I've got Teyla and Ronon organizing evacuation plans. They're coordinating with Keller in the jumper bay with supplies."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney thought it was interesting that John still referred to Jennifer as Keller, even when it was obvious she and Ronon were still doing that on again/off again dance now. He shook his head and blinked. "Wait. You're thinking of stuffing everyone into the jumper and taking off for parts unknown? We may not be anywhere close to a habitable planet."
> 
>  
> 
> "You got a better idea? If so, let's hear it. In the meantime, it won't hurt to plan for that contingency." _And give the others something to do_. Rodney heard the unspoken truth. Well, he supposed being crammed together in the jumper lost in the vast void between planets, eventually dying of starvation, was marginally preferable to freezing to death in the near future. Only he bet Ronon would be the last one alive and everyone else a shish kabob on the end of one of his knives. Well, okay, maybe Jennifer would still be around too.
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney felt his shoulders slump. "I got nothing."
> 
>  
> 
> John crooked a thumb over his shoulder as he turned and began to move down the corridor. "I'm headed to the bridge. Is there anything I can do?"
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney fell into step beside him. "I'm headed to the engine room, but there's nothing anyone can do at this point. We're out of options."
> 
>  
> 
> "We've been in worse situations."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney stopped dead in his tracks. "Hello? Pegasus Galaxy, remember? Where just trying to brush your teeth in the morning can get you killed? Or did you forget all about how dangerous life out here could be back when you were playing Paul Bunyon at my place?"
> 
>  
> 
> John shot him an odd look but stopped as well. "Noooo," John said slowly. "I didn't forget. I'm just saying something will turn up. You'll come up with a solution or I'll come up with a plan. That's how it usually works."
> 
>  
> 
> "Are you delusional?" Rodney yelled. "I hate to burst your little Scotty fantasy, but I'm not hiding any dilithium crystals in my pocket to pull out with a last minute save! I don't have any..." he trailed off sharply and began to snap his fingers in rapid succession. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, thinking hard.
> 
>  
> 
> "What?" John prodded when Rodney failed to illuminate.
> 
>  
> 
> "I'm not sure. Maybe. I might just be able...I think I can get us the information we need, but if this doesn't work, there's no going back." Rodney took a deep breath and continued. "If I take the crystals from weapons and shields, and we cut power levels to the minimum everywhere except the critical systems, we might be able to get the navigational system back online—at least long enough to scope out a possible location for us to try and reach. I'm going to have to do a patch to the system and there's a good chance it will short out, so we may only have one shot at this."
> 
>  
> 
> John looked at him a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face before he nodded. "Do it."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney hurried off without waiting for any further response from John.
> 
>  
> 
> "McKay!" John yelled after him. "You're way cooler than Scotty!"
> 
>  
> 
> "Don't forget my cat!" Rodney yelled back over his shoulder. Of _course_ he was cooler than Scotty.
> 
>  
> 
> In the end, however, it hadn't made any difference. Out of power was out of power no matter how you looked at it and the crew of the _Iphigenia_ was forced to pile into the jumper with as much of their supplies as they could afford to take with them and leave their crippled ship behind. The navigation system had not revealed a hospitable planet even remotely within jumper range, but there was a space gate that was within a thirty day flight, according to Rodney's calculations. If they were lucky. If the engines held up under the strain of so many people being on board, if they didn't get attacked again, if they didn't run out of water, if tempers didn't flare and people started killing one another.
> 
>  
> 
> "What?" Rodney snarled viciously at Ronon after he placed Puffin's carrier under the co-pilot's seat.
> 
>  
> 
> "I didn't say anything," Ronon took a seat behind John, sliding over to make room for Jennifer to sit next to him.
> 
>  
> 
> "Your eyebrows spoke volumes. You think I should have left her behind, don't you? Well, not to worry, Ronon, I'll be sharing _my_ food with her; you got a problem with that?" Inside the carrier, Puffin made a small 'meow' of protest.
> 
>  
> 
> "Just keep it out of my face, McKay," Ronon growled. The tension in the jumper felt measurably increased, as though it were barometric pressure.
> 
>  
> 
> "Knock it off, guys. It's gonna be a long trip." John sounded tired already and Rodney realized that as the only ATA carriers on board, he and John were pretty much going to have to take turns flying the jumper non-stop. _Joy_.
> 
>  
> 
> By the third day, Rodney was wishing desperately for a little life-threatening action, something, anything, to break up the monotony of dying slowly in degrees, which is surely what they were doing, because there was no fucking way they would reach the gate in time—this plan of John's was just a pipe dream. Torren had been colicky all day and the fretful baby had gotten on everyone's nerves. It didn't help that Puffin had joined in the chorus of wails, expressing her displeasure at being confined to the carrier again.
> 
>  
> 
> Towards the end of his shift, when Rodney had begun to fantasize about giant stainless steel coffee urns and an endless supply of Columbia's finest, a light tap on his shoulder caught his attention and pulled him back from his near doze.
> 
>  
> 
> "C'mon," John's voice was soft, almost seductive in his ear, and it seemed like a lifetime ago when that would have been an invitation to join him in the bedroom. "You're tired. I'll take over now."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney blinked blearily at stared at the chronometer. "You've got another three hours."
> 
>  
> 
> John shrugged and slid into the pilot's seat. "Can't sleep."
> 
>  
> 
> "Well then," Rodney suggested, stifling a yawn. "Sit there and talk to me. I haven't seen you, well, _awake_, in days."
> 
>  
> 
> The only time Rodney had seen John to speak to was when they traded piloting shifts. To conserve energy of both the crew and the jumper, the decision had been made to drastically reduce the temperature within the rear compartment for a 12 hour cycle, during which time people huddled together for warmth and to sleep. Rodney shivered as the cold blast of air followed John into the forward compartment and he was suddenly, painfully reminded of the cabin back home.
> 
>  
> 
> John sat in silence for a while and then said without preamble, "Something you said's been bugging me."
> 
>  
> 
> "What? When?" Rodney frowned in his direction.
> 
>  
> 
> John gave a little half-shrug. "The day we abandoned ship." He reached down under Rodney's seat and opened the door to the carrier, Puffin immediately sauntering out and butting her head up against John's legs.
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney cast John and the cat a wary look, but everyone else was asleep, no one was likely to complain. The black and white cat jumped up into John's lap with a loud purr and stomped around in circles until she made herself comfortable and settled down, kneading the tough material of John's pants with her paws. John slouched down, making the length of his body available to Puffin, who positioned herself so that she sat in his lap but extended her own body up his chest, a single, elegant paw stretching out to pat at his dog tags underneath his shirt.
> 
>  
> 
> "I said a lot of things the day we abandoned ship. Can you be more specific?"
> 
>  
> 
> John made his '_I don't really want to have this discussion_' face, which Rodney found ironic since it was John who'd brought up the mystery topic in the first place. "You were talking about the inherent dangers of the Pegasus galaxy. You said I must have forgotten what it was like back at your place."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney remembered the statement clearly, specifically because of the Paul Bunyon comment. His mind flashed back to the last time he'd watched John chop wood. John was one of those weird people that never got cold as long as he was moving and no matter how much clothing he was wearing when he started such a task, in no time he would strip down to just a t-shirt and jeans. Rodney could still hear the satisfying 'thwap' of the axe as it chunked down through the logs with John's easy swing, smell the sweet odor of pine sap as the wood split, and practically taste the apple-crisp clarity of the cold air as he watched John exhale little puffs of warm vapor as he worked. To watch John cut wood was a thing of beauty; he looked ridiculously hot dressed in his oldest work clothes, an old pair of leather gloves on his hands, the sun glinting off the chain of his dog tags just peeking out of the collar of his tee...
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney blinked and then frowned sharply. "If this is about the Paul Bunyon crack...okay, just so you know, the whole rugged outdoorsman thing really works for you."
> 
>  
> 
> John's half-smile made a cameo and departed. "Not that," he said. "The part about it being your place."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney continued to frown at him. Obviously days of restricted rations were starting to affect his brain because John was more obtuse than ever.
> 
>  
> 
> "It _is_ my place."
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh."
> 
>  
> 
> "Jeannie didn't really want it, as long as she got to bring her family up for the occasional vacation in the summer. And we all know I needed a place to go when the SGC pulled the Atlantis expedition out from under us." Rodney tried unsuccessfully to hide the bitterness in his voice.
> 
>  
> 
> "I just thought..." John trailed off, reaching down to rub Puffin behind one ear, which caused her to roll her head into his touch with a blissful expression on her feline face.
> 
>  
> 
> The light went on for Rodney. "Oh! You thought...well of _course_, I mean, I'm just in the habit..." John didn't seem like he was going to step in any time soon and rescue Rodney so he finally turned away from the control console and said quietly, "John. If I said 'my' place instead of 'ours', well, it's because if I always say 'mine', then I'm less likely to mess up in front of someone that matters."
> 
>  
> 
> John lifted his eyes up towards Rodney, his expression one of tired acceptance and belated, though pleased, understanding. "Oh. Okay."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney was tempted to sweep the cat off his lap, lock the doors and fulfill the one fantasy they'd always talked about but had never seriously contemplated actually doing. The sudden glint of heat in John's eyes meant that he'd picked up on Rodney's thoughts as well. The moment stretched between them for the space of several heartbeats and then was gone. Who was he kidding? Pin John to the chair and give him the blowjob of his life, knowing all the while that everyone was just on the other side of the door? Okay, the hotness of that thought aside, there was the whole 'inevitably going to die' thing. Probably without him ever having sex again. With a sigh, Rodney dragged his gaze back around to the viewscreen in front of them, checking to see that they were still on course. Three days; twenty-seven more to go.
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney glanced back at John again, resting his gaze fondly on Puffin. "I should have left her behind," he said sadly.
> 
>  
> 
> John's glare was fierce. "There was no question of leaving her behind on the _Iphigenia_, Rodney. I wish you'd stop bringing that up."
> 
>  
> 
> "No, not that," Rodney waved off the ludicrousness of the statement, even though John's vehement defense of the small cat glowed like a warm ember in Rodney's heart. "I meant with Jeannie," he clarified. "I just...I left my last cat behind. You know, when we went to Atlantis this first time. Well, he was a little elderly to begin with and there was that whole stupid 'no pets' policy, but someone else watched him get old and die, you know? I regretted that. Now I wish..." he trailed off, watching in silence as a sleepy-eyed Puffin twitched her feet against John's chest, her little body rising and falling with the movement of John's chest.
> 
>  
> 
> "You wish you'd stayed home?" There was something tight in John's voice, and Puffin's rhythmic movement stilled briefly as John apparently held his breath.
> 
>  
> 
> "Yes. No. Not exactly." Rodney sighed. "Don't get me wrong; I'm glad we got the chance to come back to Pegasus, to put together the team again, to try and find the new expedition and their runaway ship, _Destiny_." Rodney paused to make a gagging noise and mimed sticking a finger down his throat. Puffin's perch became precarious as John laughed lightly and she looked up at him with narrowed eyes, flicking her tail. Rodney rolled his own eyes. "Please. I don't think the Ancients were any better at naming things than the SGC. _Destiny_. Think highly of themselves, don't they?"
> 
>  
> 
> His voice dropped and he felt his lip curl in a sneer. "So _we_ get pulled for lack of funding, meanwhile a bunch of kids with no real background or experience gets turned loose on an Ancient exploration ship..."
> 
>  
> 
> "I'm sure Colonel Young is an experienced...and patient...man," John said in that deceptively mild manner of his.
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney snorted. "He'd have to be. I've looked at the crew list, and let me tell you, it's not pretty. A bunch of slackers and losers as far as I can tell."
> 
>  
> 
> "You're not being fair, Rodney," John began; only to have Rodney cut him off.
> 
>  
> 
> "No, but then fairness has nothing to do with it, does it? Here we are, an experienced, capable, _valuable_ team and not only were we put out to pasture like some rejects from the glue factory but then, when 'those crazy kids'..." Rodney added with an additional streak of sarcasm and expressive finger quotes, "disappear with the SGC's shiny new toy, we're sent out on a wild goose chase to find them."
> 
>  
> 
> John opened his mouth but Rodney leapt in again. "No, hear me out. They give you carte blanche to choose your team, but somehow only the real trouble-makers are available to come back to Pegasus. We're given a ship too small and defenseless for the task—don't think the irony of the name escaped me either. Face it, John. They wanted us to fail. They don't care if we come back or not."
> 
>  
> 
> "First of all—troublemakers? Radek? Keller?" John raised a skeptical eyebrow.
> 
>  
> 
> "Jennifer has been protesting that we've not done enough to make amends for the release of the Hoffan virus or the havoc that Michael caused with his experiments. She was beginning to annoy some very important people. And Radek is in bad odor with his government at the moment—he was glad to get out. The SGC doesn't give a rat's ass about Ronon or Teyla; never have. And they probably don't even know that Torren and Kanaan exist. Carson would be here if he wasn't enamored with that Dr. Porter at the moment—let's not forget how inconvenient it is to have a clone hanging around! And notice that they didn't let you have Lorne."
> 
>  
> 
> "I didn't ask for Lorne," John's expression was suddenly sheepish. He reached up and ran a hand though his hair. "I thought it might be better for his career if he stayed with the SGC."
> 
>  
> 
> "Uh-huh. You see, you knew it too."
> 
>  
> 
> "You never answered my question," John typically avoided answering his own by attacking Rodney's evasion. "Any regrets?"
> 
>  
> 
> "I can miss home without having regrets," Rodney sighed. "I miss the cabin. I miss lazy evenings in front of the fire and mornings waking up to you. I miss _us_."
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh." John blinked at him and with the mussed up hair and sleepy, startled expression, he looked like he was about twelve years old. Except for his eyes. Eyes that could be green or gold depending on the lighting or John's mood were now muddy brown in color and spoke of guilt, responsibility and exhaustion. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess, Rodney. I wish...well, I wish that there was some way to make it better."
> 
>  
> 
> "Don't be an ass," Rodney grumbled. "Such pessimism doesn't suit you. That's _my_ line, remember? Enforced inactivity really just drives you insane, doesn't it?"
> 
>  
> 
> "It sucks," John said emphatically. Puffin flicked her tail again, but did not raise her head. "Okay, you want optimistic?" John laid one hand over his eyes, in the classic posture of a fortune-teller reaching for a vision. "I'm looking into the future now. I see you and me, back at the cabin, continuing that discussion over whether or not to get a woodstove..."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney grinned; the woodstove 'discussion' consisted largely of Rodney giving blowjobs as bribes. Now _that_ was a memory he could sink in to...the warm, smooth silkiness of John's perfect cock in his mouth, his lips stretching tight over the shaft as he took in as much of John as he could, until the lush head of John's cock brushed the very back of his throat...
> 
>  
> 
> "No wait," John pronounced in his continued bad imitation of a gypsy. Rodney had a sudden mental image of John as he was now, scruffy and unshaven, but wearing a red silk shirt open at the neck, exposing his chest, gold chains replacing the dog tags, with tight, black jeans and boots, a single gold stud in his ear. John continued semi-dramatically, drawling out the words. "Yeah, I see it now. A ship comes to rescue us."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney made his patented '_as-if_' face and then and then turned his attention back to piloting the jumper, checking the readouts and stifling a yawn. When he turned back to speak to John, both he and the cat were asleep. "If you're coming, oh mystery ship," he said aloud into the black void of space beyond his viewscreen, ducking his head and looking around out the window before resting his gaze worriedly on John again, "you'd better hurry up."
> 
>  
> 
> ****
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney woke feeling disoriented, uncertain as to what had roused him. When he'd entered the rear compartment the night before, they were still on a 'day' cycle and despite being nearly dead on his feet with exhaustion, he'd been unable to avoid a minimal amount of conversation. Radek, after ten days of no showers and no shaving, looked frighteningly insane, and the fact that he often sat and muttered in Czech to himself didn't help the impression. Rodney was glad there were no mirrors on board.
> 
>  
> 
> Teyla had heard him grousing once more about the prophetic name of their recently abandoned ship and had asked what the mythology behind it was. For once, Torren was quiet, feeding at Teyla's breast while Rodney looked studiously in any other direction. Jennifer had taken pity on him, relaying the tale.
> 
>  
> 
> "There was a warrior named Agamemnon. He was a proud man, who'd boasted once of killing a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis." Jennifer, disheveled and with dark circles under her eyes, was still remarkably beautiful and Rodney had felt a moment's warmth when she smiled at him. "Agamemnon's fleet of vessels was due to set out for war..."
> 
>  
> 
> "A completely stupid, ridiculous war over a pretty woman," Rodney had growled.
> 
>  
> 
> Jennifer had rolled her eyes. 'That's another story altogether, Rodney, which you are welcome to tell if you feel like it, _after_ I'm done." She turned to face Teyla again. "Anyway, Artemis stilled the winds so the ships could not sail. The priests announced that the ships would remain becalmed until Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, to Artemis as payback for his crimes."
> 
>  
> 
> "Cool," Ronon had said from his corner of the jumper.
> 
>  
> 
> "And he did it," Rodney had complained. "And that was us too, the sacrificial lambs to slaughter when the SGC sent us out on the _Iphigenia_."
> 
>  
> 
> "Rodney," Jennifer had protested in that two-note tone that people tended to use when they were exasperated with him.
> 
>  
> 
> The temperature had dropped shortly after that and everyone piled into a group huddle without further conversation. Rodney blinked blearily at the room full of people now; he was wedged in between Teyla and Ronon. He had somehow wormed one of his arms underneath Teyla's and was clutching Torren along with her. Ronon was draped across his back like the great leather coat Ronon used to wear. Jennifer was snuggled up next to Ronon, her long, blonde hair hiding her face. When Rodney lifted his head and squinted around the room, he caught Kanaan's glance and it froze him for a moment. He began to hastily disentangle his limbs from Teyla's, all the while Kanaan continued to stare at him with one eyebrow raised and a small smile on his face. It was unnerving.
> 
>  
> 
> "Rodney, get up here. _Now_." John's voice in his ear made him realize what had woken him in the first place.
> 
>  
> 
> "Coming, coming," he said, touching the earpiece and scrambling over the slowly shifting and grumbling bodies on the floor.
> 
>  
> 
> The door to the forward compartment slid shut behind him and Rodney gave a sigh of relief at the warmer temperatures in the pilot's cabin. Rubbing his arms briskly over his jacket, he grabbed the back of the co-pilot's seat and swung into it. "What have you got?"
> 
>  
> 
> If 10 days on board the jumper made Radek look insane, it made John look positively like a pirate. His beard was coming into full glory, he looked wild and untamed. "A ship on the edge of the sensor range. I wasn't sure at first; it's been keeping its distance pretty carefully, but on occasion it's gotten a little too close and that's how I was able to pick it up."
> 
>  
> 
> "Well, well, well," Rodney muttered, focusing on the sensor array. "What do we have here?"
> 
>  
> 
> Several hours later, they were no closer to any answers. "Whatever it is, it's pretty skittish," Rodney said wearily, rubbing his brow and frowning at the HUD readout. "Like you said, it's shadowing us but not getting close enough for me to get a good reading."
> 
>  
> 
> "Not skittish," John said slowly. "Curious." Without warning, he spun the jumper sharply until it was facing the anonymous ship and halted dead in space.
> 
>  
> 
> "What are you doing?" Rodney cried out. "As long as we played fat and stupid, it had no way of knowing we were onto it!"
> 
>  
> 
> "I'm getting tired of waiting for something to happen," John said calmly.
> 
>  
> 
> "In case you haven't noticed," Rodney said sharply, "fat and stupid is not a stretch for us!"
> 
>  
> 
> John took his eyes off the viewscreen to raise an eyebrow at Rodney. "Are you saying I'm fat?"
> 
>  
> 
> "What? No! You know what I..."
> 
>  
> 
> "Are you saying you're stupid?' John's voice with silky with both implied threat and underlying amusement.
> 
>  
> 
> "John," Rodney ground out, "for crying out loud...what happened to keeping our heads down and our noses clean and scurrying for the nearest gate? We're outgunned and pretty much defenseless here."
> 
>  
> 
> "No showers," John said shortly, eyes back on the readings coming in. "Nothing to eat but MRE's and getting low on that. No privacy. No _sex_, Rodney."
> 
>  
> 
> "No coffee," Rodney agreed mournfully.
> 
>  
> 
> John shot him a double-raised eyebrow stare. "Glad to know where your priorities are, buddy."
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh c'mon," Rodney complained, "I was agreeing with you there."
> 
>  
> 
> "Head's up," John interrupted, and Rodney could swear he was excited. _Bastard_. "We've got company."
> 
>  
> 
> A starship moved into view and took up a position in front of them. It was smooth with odd phalanges that made it slightly resemble a manatee.
> 
>  
> 
> "Huh," said Rodney, thumbing his lower lip. "Looks Ancient." He began calling up the Ancient database to see if the jumper could identify the ship.
> 
>  
> 
> John, as usual, didn't wait. "This is Colonel Sheppard, formerly of the _Iphigenia_. We're on a rescue mission. There are women and children aboard. Can you render assistance?"
> 
>  
> 
> "What the hell are you doing?" Rodney hissed.
> 
>  
> 
> "John?" A familiar voice came over the con, radiating delight. "I saw the jumper and for a second, I admit, I hoped it might be you, but I really, seriously, didn't think it would be."
> 
>  
> 
> "_Elizabeth_?" Rodney's incredulity stretched the pitch of his voice to new heights.
> 
>  
> 
> "Rodney!" Elizabeth's voice came over the com. "This is a pleasant surprise. Only I'm not familiar with the _Iphigenia_. Are you alright? Do you have wounded? How may I help you?"
> 
>  
> 
> "You can start by telling us how you happened to be on board that ship. Last I recall, we left you drifting in space as an inert Replicator." Rodney could tell by the slow drawl and the absence of any name, that John was not willing to trust 'Elizabeth' just yet.
> 
>  
> 
> "Ah, well, that." Elizabeth's voice sounded both rueful and amused and Rodney knew suddenly in his heart that this really _was_ Elizabeth—much more so than the disembodied voice that had come to them before the expedition was recalled, begging for release from a Replicator existentialist hell. "This is the Ancient ship _Fortune_. I can fill you in on the details later, but the short version of the story is that this is an exploration vessel created with an AI that was designed to be merged with someone who possessed the ATA gene to become fully self-aware."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney and John exchanged looks. _Fortune_ was the sister ship to the missing _Destiny_.
> 
>  
> 
> "Anyway," Elizabeth continued, "in my corporeal form, I would have never had a chance to become one with _Fortune_. However, as a Replicator, I was able to enter completely into the ship's database in a manner that exceeded the Ancient's programming." She gave a little laugh. "Kind of unexpected for both of us."
> 
>  
> 
> "Both of you." John spoke flatly, not a question but a repetition of her statement.
> 
>  
> 
> "Yes, John," Elizabeth said, her voice full of patient understanding. "And did I hear you introduce yourself as Colonel? Congratulations on your promotion. The things you miss out on when you're floating in space."
> 
>  
> 
> "Wait, wait, wait," Rodney interrupted. "You mean to say that you're part of the ship but that there's a distinct personality there separate from you?"
> 
>  
> 
> "Yes," Elizabeth's voice was warm with pleasure. "Oh Rodney, you would love this. The things I can process and understand in the blink of an eye...the discoveries that we've made and cataloged...please say that you will come aboard and join us."
> 
>  
> 
> "How would your crew feel about that?" John said casually, tension carefully masked in his voice.
> 
>  
> 
> "There is no crew, just me and _Fortune_," Elizabeth said. "A chance encounter between myself and _Fortune_ and we've been exploring the galaxy ever since. We could use a crew in fact. A sure hand at the helm, someone to make repairs...but..." she paused and sighed. "I admit, it's been a little lonely. We went to Atlantis, but there was no one there. I got so worried, but I didn't know what to do, so I just let _Fortune_ continue with the original, programmed mission. We've been mapping Pegasus—following the dispersal of gates throughout the galaxy. You were right before, John, when you accused me of not being the same since taking Replicator form. I'm sorry for not realizing that and putting Atlantis at risk. But _Fortune_ healed me." Her voice got warm with pleasure again.
> 
>  
> 
> "That's nice."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney could see that he needed to have a word with John. At this rate, he was going to walk away from the help that Elizabeth offered because as far as he was concerned, Elizabeth was dead. It struck Rodney as odd that John had apparently no problems dealing with Elizabeth-as-Replicator when she _looked_ like Elizabeth, but since then...
> 
>  
> 
> "Sidebar," Rodney said firmly. "You'll excuse us a moment, Elizabeth?"
> 
>  
> 
> "Of course, Rodney."
> 
>  
> 
> "Okay," Rodney said when he'd terminated the communications. "The way I see it, we've got nothing to lose here by letting Elizabeth help."
> 
>  
> 
> John was predictably mulish. "_If_ that's Elizabeth."
> 
>  
> 
> "It is. You know it is. Hell, you want to be sure? Let Teyla talk to her. But you know it's Elizabeth—the Elizabeth _we_ knew."
> 
>  
> 
> John's face crumpled and for one awful moment, Rodney thought he looked as though he might cry. "Rodney. If we're wrong..."
> 
>  
> 
> "_You_ might be wrong; _I'm_ not," Rodney snapped, unable to bear the emotion in the cockpit. "Besides, weren't you the one sitting here moments ago, complaining of the lack of food, showers and blowjobs?"
> 
>  
> 
> "I never specifically said anything about blowjobs," John said somewhat grumpily, slouching a little in his seat.
> 
>  
> 
> "Well, I'm telling you now, if you ever want a blowjob from me again..." Rodney began warningly, only to be interrupted by a slight cough.
> 
>  
> 
> "Um, gentlemen? Far be it from me to butt in on your conversation, but I'd like to point out that the com channel is still open." Elizabeth's voice was rich with amusement. "Oh, and for the record? I just won a bet with myself."
> 
>  
> 
> John shot him a completely pissed off glare and smacked Rodney upside the head. Hard.
> 
>  
> 
> "Um, roger that, _Fortune_," he said stiffly. He sat in silence for a moment, staring out at the vastness of space, before adding, "Permission to come aboard?"
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh, yes, by all means!" Elizabeth sounded positively relieved and giddy with pleasure. "Oh, you have no idea...I've really missed all of you. There's so much to discuss and catch up on. For example, I'm just dying to know what you are all doing out here so far from everything in a simple jumper and why Atlantis has been abandoned..."
> 
>  
> 
> "Don't get me started," Rodney snarled. "_Funding_."
> 
>  
> 
> "They pulled the plug on the Pegasus expedition over funding?" Elizabeth sounded a little pissed.
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh no, no, no," Rodney curled his upper lip. "Not Pegasus; just _us_. Apparently we weren't cool enough for the SGC anymore. I, for the record, would like to point out the irony in sending us back on a ship named _Iphignenia_."
> 
>  
> 
> "The daughter of Agamemnon that was sacrificed for the sake of the wind? Well if it's any consolation, Rodney, according to some legends, Artemis supplied a sacrificial deer to take her place, much like the Biblical story of Isaac and the ram. But I don't understand," Elizabeth added slowly. "I selected the expedition members myself. You are all the best in your fields, the brightest, the most experienced..."
> 
>  
> 
> "Yes, but do we look good in tank tops and muscle shirts?" Rodney said snidely. "Can our adventures be turned into comic books and computer games? Are we _marketable_?"
> 
>  
> 
> "Give it a rest, McKay," John said tiredly. "My apologies, Elizabeth. I'm sure Rodney will be delighted to explain more in detail later. Mind if we bring this jumper on board first?"
> 
>  
> 
> "Not at all, John. You're cleared to land on the starboard shuttle bay." Landing lights began to blink even as the bay doors opened welcomingly in front of them. Elizabeth's voice clearly registered pleasure at John's use of her name.
> 
>  
> 
> Hours later, Rodney was shuffling things around in the quarters that he'd chosen for himself and John. Screw public appearances. They were on their own now. He was hoisting John's duffle bag onto the bed when something fell out of one of the side pockets and fell to the floor. Puffin pounced on it in a heartbeat, catching the folded up paper and killing it, shaking it vigorously before dropping it to bat at it where it lay on the floor.
> 
>  
> 
> Curiously, Rodney picked it up. They didn't have much use for paper in the Pegasus galaxy. He had just opened up form and was staring at in confusion when John entered the rooms.
> 
>  
> 
> "There you are," he yawned and stretched one arm over his head briefly, a tantalizing section of skin at his waistline making a seductive appearance. "I think everyone's settled in. Keller's agog over the infirmary. Teyla seemed pathetically grateful to be assigned a suite of rooms. It was kinda cool seeing everything light up for us again, just like when we first came to Atlantis. God, I can't wait to take a shower..."
> 
>  
> 
> He broke off to stare at Rodney. "What?"
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney held out the paper in his direction. "This is an invoice."
> 
>  
> 
> John looked suddenly uncomfortable, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck as he looked up through the fringe of his hair at Rodney. Who would never in a million years admit how hot that looked. "Um, yeah?"
> 
>  
> 
> "An invoice for a wood stove. For the _cabin_," Rodney continued, the paper quivering slightly in the air between them. "You must have placed this order online shortly after Sam told us of the mission."
> 
>  
> 
> "Well, yeah." John shuffled his feet slightly and then sighed. "Well, it's not like we're not going back there some day."
> 
>  
> 
> Rodney launched himself forward and threw his arms around John, causing him to release his breath with a sudden 'whoosh' of air. "Oh. My. God." Rodney took John's face in both hands, letting the invoice fall to the floor. "I love you so much."
> 
>  
> 
> John turned red with embarrassment, but submitted hungrily to Rodney's kiss.
> 
>  
> 
> ~fin~


End file.
